Tag Archives: weightloss

When I first started dieting, I would eat plain dry chicken breast, a few florets of broccoli from a steamer bag, and a 1/4 of a sweet potato. It was as boring and unsatisfying as it sounds. Like so many people starting off on a diet, I did a dramatic cut of my calories, which lead to me craving junk foods. It was this mental barrier that was the hardest for me overcome. Food for me was a way to cope with many of my life’s problems. I found myself addicted to sugary, fatty, and heavily salted foods, that gave me an immediate feeling of satisfaction. But what came next? Guilt. I found that the short-term satisfaction didn’t last as long as the guilt of, “cheating”, on my diet.

So, how do I avoid giving into my cravings?

What I have done to help limit my cravings is to add more food to my diet. Sounds counterproductive to losing weight, right? How I have done this is by adding more nutrient dense foods to my diet. By adding more vegetables, lean cuts of meats, and high fiber carbs, I have been able to increase the amount of food that I eat at each meal without increasing the calories. I stay full longer and crave less junk.

I also started to take my time and plan out my meals. I know everything that I’m going to eat each day. The next step is I stick to my planned meals. I portion my meals and bring them with me to work so I have meals ready to eat. Having prepared meals helps me from going out to eat junk for snacks and lunches.

I also log my food in my Lose it App. This Application allows me to see how many calories, grams of protein, carbs, and fats I’m consuming each day. The app also allows me to sync my Fitbit. Now I was tracking my calories in and my calories out allowing me to adjust my nutrition plan to fit my fitness goals.

When I started eating more nutrient dense foods, my body was getting what it needed to grow muscle and slowly shed the fat (It doesn’t happen overnight people).

Chicken: Hand-trim fat off the thighs, place thighs in an aluminum cooking pan and cover with taco seasoning. Add half a cup of water to the bottom of the pan and cover with 2 layers of aluminum foil. Place pan on a cooking sheet and cook for 2.5 hours. After the 2.5 hours take out of the oven, keeping pan covered, let stand for another 30 minutes.

Potatoes: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Quarter the little potatoes and spread onto a greased cooking sheet. Spray potatoes with cooking spray and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste. Place in oven and cook until tender. When tender, take out spray with cooking spray and place in broiler until the tops are crisped.

Rice: In a large pot bring 7 cups of water to a boil. Place 1.5 cups of rice into the pot and cover, stirring occasionally. Cook until all water has been absorbed by the rice. I like my rice kind of think and sticky.